Chennai: Senior counsel A.R.L. Sunderesan, appearing for the Justice A.Arumughaswamy Commission of Inquiry, appointed to inquire into the circumstances and situation leading to the hospitalisation of late Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa and subsequent treatment provided to her, has informed the Madras high court that the question of bias will not be applicable to the Commission of Inquiry since it is only a fact finding body.
Senior counsel Sunderesan made the submission when the petition filed by Apollo Hospital, which sought to quash the proceedings before the Commission of Inquiry relating to the correctness, adequacy and inadequacy of medical treatment given to former chief minister late J.Jayalalithaa, came up for hearing before a division bench comprising Justices R.Subbiah and Krishnan Ramaswamy.
He said a list of doctors attached to Apollo Hospitals, who gave treatment to late chief minister were prepared and they were summoned and were examined and there was no objection from the hospital at that stage. However, after collecting evidences, as a knee jerk, the hospital now come and say the commission should not go into the medical treatment or records.
If the hospital was allowed to say that the commission should not give any finding that means the inquiry has to be stopped. Commission of Inquiry was a fact finding body. It can collect the materials and give its opinion and it cannot give any decision. If they say the commission should not go into the medical aspect, then, it will go against the object of the constitution of commission, he added.
Referring to allegation of bias, he said the allegation of bias can be placed against a judicial authority or administrative authority, whose decision was enforceable in law. The commission of inquiry was only a fact finding body. It can give its opinion and cannot give any decision. It can place its recommendations to the government, it was up to the government to accept it or not. Therefore, the question of bias will not be applicable to Commission of Inquiry, he added.
When the bench asked can the commission file a counter by itself, senior counsel Sunderesan said it was not a counter, it was only a statement of objection filed by the standing counsel for the commission. It was only for the purpose of putting on notice the objections to the petition filed by the hospital to file its reply. Even without the statement, the commission can straight away decide the matter, he added.
When the bench asked who had given instruction to the standing counsel to file counter, he said it was filed by the standing counsel on his own or on seeing the records. Moreover, the commission has not passed any order on the impleading petition filed by the hospital. On a request made by the commission, government doctors had examined the medical records and the observations made by the doctors, who gave treatment to late chief minsiter and they were relieved. Their reports were yet to be received, he added.
The bench adjourned the matter to March 12.
